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Republican Legislature Undeterred By Bevin Vetoes

Josh James
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WUKY
Leftover signs from a "Tim's Law" demonstration held before the Senate convened Wednesday.

While Gov. Matt Bevin has shown he's not shy about exercising his veto powers, the Republican-led General Assembly appears ready and willing to respond in kind during the final two days of the regular 2017 session.

When lawmakers arrived at the Senate Wednesday, they were met with a hastily organized protest by mental health advocates, all decked out in eye-catching red.

"Save Tim's Law! Save lives!" the demonstrators chanted.

Sheila Schuster, head of the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition, said the passion on display shows how committed her group and its allies have been in their five-year fight to pass Senate Bill 91, also known as Tim's Law. The bill, deemed uncontroversial in both chambers, would allow judges to order outpatient treatment for up to a year for some people with severe mental illness.

"We have been flooding switchboard with calls. We've been flooding the media. We've been flooding social media to push out this message that the governor was just wrong in vetoing this," she told WUKY.

Credit Josh James / WUKY
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WUKY
Senators meet during a brief recess on the 29th day of the 2017 legislative session.

Bevin recently vetoed the measure despite strong bipartisan support, shocking some members of his own party.  Wednesday, the governor told reporters issues of individual liberty are at stake.

"I think it's a dangerous precedent when we authorize the government to lock people up who have violated no laws, who have not been deemed a threat to anyone," he said, leaving a bill signing in the Capitol Rotunda.

But the governor's reservations don't appear to be swaying enough lawmakers. SB91 cleared the Senate again Wednesday with only one "no" vote, improving on its original vote total. The House appears poised to do the same, and not just with Tim's law but all four of the bills and resolutions struck down by Bevin.

"I have said from day one that I fully intended for the Kentucky House to be independent at every opportunity and that, when necessary to assert our legislative independence," House Speaker Jeff Hoover told Spectrum News.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are wrapping up work on last minute bills before winding down the short 30-day session.

Credit Josh James / WUKY
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WUKY
Gov. Matt Bevin ceremonially signs two bills dealing with foster children in the Capitol Rotunda.

In the Senate, that's meant tackling House amendments to Senate Bill 1, a sweeping education measure that's been sat atop the chamber's to-do-list for years. Wednesday it finally emerged, in amended form, from the upper chamber.

"This is a bill that will bring local control back to our public schools here in Kentucky," Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer announced, requesting a round of applause for bill sponsor, Bowling Green Republican Mike Wilson.

Thursday marks the final scheduled day of the 2017 session. Lawmakers typically work into the night and adjourn at midnight.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.
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